Paul Paton
Paul Raymond Paton is a coach and former professional footballer who manages West of Scotland Football League club Glenafton Athletic.
He played as a defensive midfielder for Queen's Park, Partick Thistle, Dundee United, St Johnstone, Plymouth Argyle, Falkirk, Dunfermline Athletic, East Kilbride and Dumbarton, and had a spell on loan to Airdrieonians.
Born in Scotland, Paton represented Northern Ireland at international level.
Club career
Queen's Park
Paton played for Queen's Park from 2005 until 2008. His displays at right back were key in Queen's winning promotion to the Second Division. He scored the goal which gave Queen's the lead in the second leg of the playoff final against East Fife at New Bayview.Partick Thistle
Paton signed for Partick Thistle in May 2008, on a three-year contract. He played a significant role in Thistle winning promotion in the 2012–13 season, during which he was the club captain.Dundee United
On 16 April 2013 it was announced that Paton would follow former Thistle manager Jackie McNamara, along with Thistle teammate Chris Erskine, to join Dundee United for the start of the 2013–14 season. Paton scored his first goal for the club in a 4–0 win against Motherwell. Having established himself as a first team regular, Paton was rewarded with a contract extension at the beginning of the following season to keep him at the club until 2017. In the 2014–15 season Paton was named as SPFL Player of the Month for September 2014.On 18 December 2014, Paton was found guilty by an SFA Disciplinary Tribunal of spitting at Aberdeen player Jonny Hayes during the match between Dundee United and Aberdeen five days earlier, and was given a two-match suspension, despite Hayes saying that Paton had not spat at him. Dundee United announced they would be appealing the suspension but were told that the SFA's fast-track judicial system did not allow this.
In April 2015, Paton suffered a knee injury which kept him out for the rest of the season and most of the 2015–16 season. He made his return for United in the latter stages of a Scottish Cup fourth round match against Airdrieonians where United won 1–0 in January 2016. He scored his first goal of the season in the final minutes of a 2–1 win over Heart of Midlothian to put United into the lead with a 25-yard strike. United were relegated to the Scottish Championship at the end of the season. In June 2016, he left United by mutual agreement with the club.